Sunday, July 20, 2014

Rameshwaram cleanup drive makes quiet and steady progress

CHENNAI: Ganga has Modi & team, but it's the NGO
drive that is doing the cleanup act for South's temple town Rameshwaram.
Even before the Centre embarked on an ambitious programme to clean up
the Ganga, temple town Rameshwaram in the south had decided that it
needed a clean break from its polluting ways on its own.

Located on Tamil Nadu's southern coastline,
Rameshwaram is one of the holiest places for Hindus and receives about
1.5 crore pilgrims and tourists every year, resulting in the
degeneration of the environment and ecological balance around the area.
But earlier this year a group led by non-governmental organisation
Vivekananda Kendra began work to clean and transform Rameswaram through
what it calls the "Green Rameshwaram Project". The plan was set rolling
in January by former president APJ Abdul Kalam.

"It all started with cleaning the water bodies (or 'theerthams' as they
are called) in and around the famous Ramanatha Swamy temple. They were
almost ruined and we revived those," said G Vasudeo, secretary of
Vivekananda Kendra's Natural Resources Development Project.

"Then with this success, we decided to take up the cleaning of the
entire town." A detailed report is being prepared but a rough estimate
shows the project will require about Rs 250 crore, says Vivekananda
Kendra. It plans to rope in like-minded individual donors and corporate
donors for the cause. The project will address issues such as
archaeology, history, marine biodiversity, solid waste management,
ecotourism, and beautification, among other things.

The Vivekananda Kendra has tied up with organisations, such as Brahmos
Aerospace to help in solar electrification of some hamlets in
Dhanushkodi, the southernmost tip of the island. The team is also is
exploring ways of working with IIT-Madras for help in the use of certain
technologies.

"We have had initial rounds of discussions with the Kendra and we would
be working with them in areas such as clean transport, non-conventional
use of energy and atmospheric pollution control," said S Gopalakrishnan,
project consultant at The Rural Technology Action Group, IIT-M. The
dumping of waste such as plastic items into the sea has been one of the
main factors for the depletion of fish in the surrounding areas, forcing
fishermen to move further away from the coast for their catch.

"The dumping of sewage into the sea has even made the courts to say that
taking a dip in it is a health hazard. But people come here all the way
to wash away their sins in these holy waters," said Aravindan Neelakantan, a volunteer with the Vivekananda Kendra. He said water
bodies in Rameshwaram have been scientifically built centuries ago and
excellent examples of rainwater harvesting. "We are just trying to
revive these. It is astonishing to find freshwater in these water bodies
given that we are surrounded by saline water," he says.